Which play of shakespeares is most widely read?

Answer 1

Romeo and Juliet or Hamlet. Most people if they know the name of only one of Shakespeare's plays will know Romeo and Juliet. However, Hamlet is more quoted, more performed, more parodied and much more studied than Romeo and Juliet is.

Answer 2

I'm an English professor who regularly teaches Shakespeare. I have yet to find a central source of statistics that will give us a full answer. The folks at Shakespeare Quarterly and Shakespeare Studies try to keep a running tally, but of course there are scores of productions every year (and hundreds from past generation) that have most likely escaped their notice.

I've seen a number of sources say that Hamlet is the most performed of Shakespeare's plays, followed by The Merchant of Venice. I'm not sure how much confidence we can put in those reports, especially the second. In my own experience, I think both Macbeth and A Midsummer Night's Dream seem to get more stage time than Merchant; I wonder also if R&J likewise might be ahead of it.

But that's just my local theater scene over the last 30 years and a subjective impression.

There are easily 70 movie versions of Hamlet and over a dozen of Macbeth in a variety of world languages (and some reaching back to the silent era). MND has also received a number of film treatments, as have Merchant and Julius Caesar.

Answer 3

The plays most likely to be performed are the ones that show up on high school English curricula, because then the theatre company can sell big blocks of tickets to schools. Hence Hamlet, Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Julius Caesar, Midsummer Night's Dream, Merchant of Venice and Much Ado about nothing are the most performed. Hamlet is certainly the most filmed Shakespeare play but it is a difficult one to do on stage because of the extraordinary demands on the lead actor.

Answer 4

Hamlet was the probably the most quoted play, and one very famous quote was:

"To be or not to be, that is the question."

I just improved this answer give some credit to the original answerer!

Hope this helps!

Answer 5

People's tastes change from time to time, and so Shakespearean plays become more or less popular. During his lifetime, Titus Andronicus was a very popular play, which lost ground in the Restoration theatre of classicism and comedy of manners, and was virtually consigned to oblivion by the Victorians who were shocked by its gratuitous violence. It has only gained attention again in the late twentieth century.

The two Henry IV plays featuring the fat knight Falstaff were enormously popular in Shakespeare's day, and may well have been his most popular for a time. The Victorians again didn't like this immoral reprobate and his reputation diminished along with the plays in which he starred.

In the Restoration period, Shakespeare was considered to be an inferior playwright because he ignored classical rules of taste. People only liked Shakespeare's plays if they were severely hacked about in order to conform with the fashion. They liked the happy ending King Lear and the overly moralistic Macbeth.

In the eighteenth century a star system of actor-managers arose according to which the audiences came only to see the star actors play the big roles and say the big speeches. People would come to see Macklin or Garrick or Kean, and when they left the stage, the audience would get a drink or start a conversation while the other actors played. The popular plays were the ones with the big roles--Hamlet, Richard III, Macbeth.

This focus on the star actor continued well into the twentieth century (Olivier was clearly of that tradition). The nineteenth century added a new factor--huge theatres with proscenium arches and new methods of changing scenery that were more subtle than sliding a painted flat through grooves in the stage. The Victorians became obsessed with scenery and "historical accuracy", delighting to recreate the battlements of Harfleur in Henry V exactly as they appeared in the 15th century, the Roman Senate for Julius Caesar, a Scottish castle for Macbeth. Plays which allowed this sort of thing were the most popular, especially those which allowed for court ceremonials or giant battles with hundreds of extras. Two plays which were very popular at that time for this reason were King John and Henry VIII.

As the reign of Queen Victoria drew to a close, people were beginning to tire of Tree's productions of Midsummer Night's Dream largely distinguished by the presence on stage of real live bunny rabbits. The twentieth century saw much experimentation with Shakespeare and the dawning of more of an ensemble approach which considered all of the characters to be important, not just the leads. The use of lighting to suggest scenery and the return to thrust staging were two factors in creating productions which were more intimate and less clunky. Plays which dealt with darker themes such as Measure for Measure have increased in popularity, and Romeo and Juliet has become more popular because of the youth of its main characters. On the other hand, political correctness has made it imperative that The Merchant of Venice be played as the Tragedy of Shylock and has eroded the popularity of The Taming of the Shrew.

Throughout all of this, the plays of Shakespeare's which have always been amongst the most popular have been the great tragedies Hamlet, Othello, Macbeth and King Lear. They have had qualities which have made them attractive to many different tastes.

Answer 6

Hamlet, number one. Julius Caesar, often studied in schools because there's no dirty language in it. Romeo and Juliet, also studied frequently in schools because it's about teenagers. A Midsummer Night's Dream, Macbeth, and The Merchant of Venice are also popular. King Lear is often studied but more often at the University level.

Answer 7

The answer is probably Hamlet, with Romeo and Juliet coming next. Julius Caesar is not often seen these days.

Answer 8

The most widely read Shakespeare play is Romeo and Juliet. Macbeth, Hamlet, and Julius Caesar are also widely read Shakespeare plays.

Answer 9

The Merchant of Venice.